Axle seal

monstrousmac

monstrousmac

Caught the Bug
Well, yesterday was a fun day. It was my birthday to start. I decided to do my front brakes and while doing them I found my u-joint on the passenger side axle shaft was bad. So, I pulled everything a part pulled the axle shaft and replaced the u-joint with no problems. Slide the axle shaft back in and put everything back together and took it for a test drive. Came back and found that my axle was leaking horrible onto the knuckle.

I did not have a leak prior, I pulled it back a part and tried to reseat the axle shaft and now the axle shaft will not go back in at all. So, my guess is the inner seal is so bad and preventing me from reinstalling the axle shaft. I do not think I have a bent axle because I did not have any leaks at all prior to pulling the axle shaft and replacing the u-joint. I thing the little spring in the seal is blocking the axle shaft from going back in. And yes I did pull the plastic guide out and left it out, so that is not the problem with me reinstalling the shaft or cause of my leak.

My question is can I just bolt the wheel hub bearing back on with the three bolts and brakes back on and mount the wheel to drive it like one mile down the road to a friend's shop? I stuffed a rag in the axle tube to get dirt and stuff out.
 
OverlanderJK

OverlanderJK

Resident Smartass
monstrousmac said:
Well, yesterday was a fun day. It was my birthday to start. I decided to do my front brakes and while doing them I found my u-joint on the passenger side axle shaft was bad. So, I pulled everything a part pulled the axle shaft and replaced the u-joint with no problems. Slide the axle shaft back in and put everything back together and took it for a test drive. Came back and found that my axle was leaking horrible onto the knuckle.

I did not have a leak prior, I pulled it back a part and tried to reseat the axle shaft and now the axle shaft will not go back in at all. So, my guess is the inner seal is so bad and preventing me from reinstalling the axle shaft. I do not think I have a bent axle because I did not have any leaks at all prior to pulling the axle shaft and replacing the u-joint. I thing the little spring in the seal is blocking the axle shaft from going back in. And yes I did pull the plastic guide out and left it out, so that is not the problem with me reinstalling the shaft or cause of my leak.

My question is can I just bolt the wheel hub bearing back on with the three bolts and brakes back on and mount the wheel to drive it like one mile down the road to a friend's shop? I stuffed a rag in the axle tube to get dirt and stuff out.
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Yup. You don't need the shaft installed. Just the rag as you stated.


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monstrousmac

monstrousmac

Caught the Bug
I appreciate it, would you come to the same conclusion not a bent axle since there were no leaks before. It is a D30 with 285-75-R17. I do have c-gussets welded on.
 
monstrousmac

monstrousmac

Caught the Bug
Yea that is what I figured, plus with the u-joint being bad and causing wobbling in the shaft probably did not help the seal either. Next question is should I purchase a new axle shaft guide for 2 dollars to help guide it in or no?
 
Josh27

Josh27

New member
I just recently had my seals replaced. It started about a month after I replaced one u-joint at 130,000 miles. Also check your axle shafts where the seal rides. Mine had some grooves in it that were causing it to leak.


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monstrousmac

monstrousmac

Caught the Bug
Yea I am at 120K miles, i was so mad. I replaced the u-joint no issues slide everything back in and started leaking.
 
TRLJNKY

TRLJNKY

New member
monstrousmac said:
are after market seals as good as the Mopar seals or just go with Mopar
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If you go Meritor or SKF something like that you will be fine. I just go to Napa to get seals on almost everything I work on. Id be willing to bet GM, Mopar, and Motocraft are prob made by one of the big seal companies anyway.

sent from my Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator
 
monstrousmac

monstrousmac

Caught the Bug
Update to Front Axle seal leak

To start you suck Eddie (just kidding), but I do have some input for your right up on changing axle shafts or u-joints. So, as stated above had and axle seal leak after changing a u-joint. I did pull out the plastic axle shaft guide and threw it away. I tried pulling the axle shaft out and reseating it, but upon trying to reinsert it, it would not go back in at all. So I finally gave up. I did not have time to take everything apart myself. I am retiring from the Military after 25 years of active duty service and had the movers at the house packing everything, including my tools.

Anyway brought it to the dealer to fix the inner axle seals, 432 dollars later I get a call from the dealer and they asked if I could come down. I said sure they are only three miles away, it turns out there was not one axle shaft guide but three. I bought this vehicle brand new and the axle has never been out. I asked the service manager and mechanic how in the hell did three get in there? They had seen they have seen up to 4 in a brand new vehicle. I Kid you not. So the other two were folded like a taco in the seal, hence why I could not get the axle shaft back in. They said there probably was nothing wrong with the seals, but hell it was another 40 dollars for parts to replace them and I figured at 120k not a bad idea. It was already all a part. Just pisses me off if I would have looked down the tube again to make sure there were no more I could have pulled them out and saved myself 400 dollars.
 
jeeeep

jeeeep

Hooked
monstrousmac said:
To start you suck Eddie (just kidding), but I do have some input for your right up on changing axle shafts or u-joints. So, as stated above had and axle seal leak after changing a u-joint. I did pull out the plastic axle shaft guide and threw it away. I tried pulling the axle shaft out and reseating it, but upon trying to reinsert it, it would not go back in at all. So I finally gave up. I did not have time to take everything apart myself. I am retiring from the Military after 25 years of active duty service and had the movers at the house packing everything, including my tools.

Anyway brought it to the dealer to fix the inner axle seals, 432 dollars later I get a call from the dealer and they asked if I could come down. I said sure they are only three miles away, it turns out there was not one axle shaft guide but three. I bought this vehicle brand new and the axle has never been out. I asked the service manager and mechanic how in the hell did three get in there? They had seen they have seen up to 4 in a brand new vehicle. I Kid you not. So the other two were folded like a taco in the seal, hence why I could not get the axle shaft back in. They said there probably was nothing wrong with the seals, but hell it was another 40 dollars for parts to replace them and I figured at 120k not a bad idea. It was already all a part. Just pisses me off if I would have looked down the tube again to make sure there were no more I could have pulled them out and saved myself 400 dollars.
Click to expand...

oh that sucks - but yep, I always shine a light into the axle tube to check for dirt and axle shaft guides left behind. I've helped several friends do theirs and they wondered why I had a flashlight. They've told me they wouldn't have thought to look for more guides since one came out with the axle shaft.

I reuse the guides if they're in good shape but I also keep some on hand because I find it easier to guide the shaft back in with the guide on. I don't like the feeling that I'm hitting the inner seal too much or hard when reinstalling.

In my mind, they also help control how much dirt gets all the way into the tube. OCD but I figure it's only $2 and makes it easier for me.
 
monstrousmac

monstrousmac

Caught the Bug
Yea, It is very important to ensure you look all the way down the tube twice to ensure there is nothing else in there.
 
monstrousmac

monstrousmac

Caught the Bug
Should have borrowed the the bore scope from work, that we use on aircraft engines to make sure everything was good
 
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